Funding to revamp 185-acre property not yet discussed

A representative from planning consultant Houseal Lavigne shows Woodridge residents one of the proposed redevelopment plans for the Town Centre Monday night.

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(Photo provided)

A map of the proposed Yellow concept plan.

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(Ryan Terrell - rterrell@shawmedia.com)

Woodridge resident Rita Mahoney looks over one of the concept plans to redevelop the Town Centre during an open house Monday night. Mahoney, who's lived in Woodridge for 20 years, was a big fan of the proposed amphitheater.

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(Photo provided)

Many residents at Monday's open house liked the idea of an amphitheater in the Town Centre development. Here is a rendering of the amphitheater proposed with the Yellow concept plan.

WOODRIDGE – Woodridge residents got their first glimpse of the village's vision for a redevelopment of the 185-acre Town Centre during an open house Monday night.

Three concept plans were presented during the open house, allowing the standing room crowd in the gymnasium of Edgewood School to view the proposals, talk with developers and sound off on the ideas via comment cards and open comment.

Each plan focused on preserving the open space of the property, owned jointly by the Village of Woodridge and the Woodridge Park District, while adding outdoor amenities for residents such as an amphitheater, sledding hill, a wedding arbor and athletic fields.

Leading the meeting were representatives from Houseal Levigne Associates, a consulting firm specializing in community planning hired by the village to piece together development plans based on public input.

The three proposals left most of the Town Centre's core buildings – Village Hall, the police department and the local U.S. Post Office – untouched outside of separate plans to revamp traffic flow and add parking around the buildings.

In two of the concept plans, the public works department, which currently shares space with the police department, would get its own facility in the Town Centre, while the third concept plan moved the department offsite.

Ideas floated for Hawthorne Hill Woods, the 71-acre forest on the west side of the Town Centre, included adding multi-purpose trails, exercise stations and an "outdoor adventure" feature.

Officials stressed at the meeting that the proposals were simply ideas being pitched to residents.

Feedback gathered from the open house will be formulated into a preferred Town Centre Master Plan that will be presented to the Woodridge Plan Commission, village board and park district board in April, officials said.

Each concept plan was categorized by color – yellow, green and red – though officials said the final concept plan could be a combination of all three depending on residents' feedback.

Costs, potential funding and an exact timeline were not addressed at the open house, as they would be dependent on components of the plan, according to village officials.

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Concept plan features

YELLOW

- Landmark amphitheater/pavilion structure with space for vending and a restaurant

- A prominent pedestrian promenade

- Sled hill

- Expanded Memorial Park

- Relocated community garden

- Wedding arbor on Lake Harriet

- Boat launch and shelter at Lake Carleton

- Moves public works offsite

RED

- Lower scale amphitheater with a portable stage for a less structured look

- Farmers market/carnival site just west of Civic Center with multi-purpose surface